


no vacuum will contain you

by musicluver315



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, I don't know how to tag things whoops, Multi, Other, Random Adventures, because sometimes you just need a fic of two Guardians out on patrol doing nothing, like during and between story stuff, maybe. Also some feelings. maybe., shenanigans will be had
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicluver315/pseuds/musicluver315
Summary: A Guardian walks into a ramen joint -No, wait. That's not quite right.A group of Guardians walk into a a pho joint.{Misc fiction pieces about my Guardians covering the span of the game and all the moments in between story missions we don't get to see.}





	1. aftermath of a schism

**Author's Note:**

> Athena-14  
> Exo Warlock  
> Post-Red War

She doesn't leave her ship for months. It takes some work, avoiding Tess, but she manages to succeed a few times. There's some part of Athena that is sure Tess is letting her get away with it – she's heard too much about the Pull to think otherwise – but she can't bring herself to care. Not right now. Not anymore. Caring is what got her into this mess. Trying to be something she's not. And maybe it was for the better, sure, and maybe not, but what she knows right now is that it hurts. It hurts a lot, and she wasn't in any way prepared for this.

Maybe that's why Tess barges in one day and grabs her arm, her smile not quite reaching as far as it should but there all the same. “Come on, we're getting you out of here.”  
  
Athena puts up minimal struggle. It's useless to fight it when Tess has it in her head (or that's what she tells herself), so she goes along with it, lets herself be dragged to whatever it is the Awoken has in store.

She doesn't know what to expect, but it's not pho and booze, and it's certainly not the company of the other members of their fireteam. They're surrounding the table, loud and merry and laughing about something, and all she can do is watch. There's something floating through her head, the barest echo of a memory – _you may as well be dead to me anyway! –_ and she thinks for a second that she sees Tess tense up. But then Virginia is nudging her shoulder, asking her a question, and Athena can't help but stammer out an answer, any answer. She knows she should be embarssed, should be something but there's still a nagging voice in the back of her head, a reminder that this used to be normal, before -

Before what?

It won't leave her alone. Athena's tried so hard to shake that question, and it comes back to haunt her when she has a moment to think. When she was first brought back, things were fine; she didn't have to think about the question, and her brain didn't take to wandering beyond the immediate. The Vangaurd gave her strikes and missions and assignments, and she took them like she was supposed to, studied the Light and what it meant to be a Warlock. Now, she can't help but wonder if this is normal, if she's supposed to be second guessing every step she takes.

Tess grabs her hand under the table and squeezes it gently, and just like that, the laughter begins to filter in again. Athena can feel herself almost blink, the lights of her eyes flickering suddenly as she processes what just happened.

“Hey Athena, what about you?” It takes her a second to process what Virginia is asking, what with her mind elsewhere, but she quickly catches on again.

“I, uh. I'm not sure I have a particularly good moment from a strike. Not like that at least.”

“Sure you do! You gotta have one, everyone does.”

In the span of a second, Athena's mind runs through so many stories she could tell, so many memories that linger in the back of her mind. The words die before they can actually make it out of her, and she can tell Tess can feel her mixture of distress and nostalgia, but as her friend goes to interject and change the subject Athena speaks up.

“Actually, there was this one time Tess stepped in front of my grenade as I went to throw it.” There's a beat of silence as she glances at her friend. When she sees the small nod, the slight smile of encouragement, she continues. “We were in the middle of fighting the Vex on Venus, you know, down in the Isthar Collective? And I've got the perfect cluster for one of my grenades and -”  
  
“And I have the perfect set up for a void bow right smack dab in the center of them, thank you very much.” It almost throws Athena off, but Tess' interjection is welcome. When she picks back up, she almost has more energy than before, the last vestiges of her mood finally shaken off.

“You did not. What you had was a face full of pulse grenade two seconds later because you thought it was a smart idea to step in front of me.” She laughs, relief flooding through her as she sees the grins of the faces of her friends too. “Yeah, that was real early, right when we started to work together. We don't do that much anymore.”

The discussion turns to other topics, and Athena's silence shifts from brooding to contemplative. She interjects where necessary, but she finds it far more soothing to listen and watch. Jordan and Aria are in the corner of the booth, and Athena watches with amusement as the shorter Awoken steals the occasional noodle from Jordan's broth. Next to them are Virginia and Schirm, exchanging stories and occasionally asking Athena for her two cents. It's been a month, and she hadn't realized how much she missed them until this very moment.

* * *

“You're both wrong, the oracles sounded more like a chime than a bell or a gong.”

“No, they were absolutely a gong! Come on, someone's gotta remember that right?”

Athena shakes her head. She knows she's right, but it's not a battle worth fighting. At least, not when she can get so much amusement out of listening to her friends try to mimic the sound of the Oracles. Eventually, they run out of steam though. Tess is the first to leave, simply patting Athena on the shoulder and telling her that she'd be on the ship. Jordan and Aria go next, Jordan saying something about having to look for some stuff on Mars and Aria trailing after. Soon enough, it's just Athena, Schirm, and Virginia.

The silence between them stretches, but it's by no means uncomfortable. There's a weight that's gone now, something Athena hadn't really been aware of until its absence. Virginia breaks the silence first.

“You know, it's nice seeing you out and about again.” It's not the sentiment that catches Athena off guard but the sincerity. “Even if you do put jalapeno in your pho.”

“... Jalapeno adds good flavor.”

“It literally makes it inedible, Athena.” Virginia is smiling despite the deadpan, though, and Athena merely shakes her head in response. “But no, I am glad. Didn't think you'd be around for a while, so when you accepted the invite to grab food, it was nice.”

For a second, Athena's confused. But slowly, everything clicks into place. She vaguely recalls being in the midst of a flashback when North told her about the invitation, Tess' voice far too chipper as she says something that Athena couldn't quite make out at the time but that she now knows was about this. Instead of telling her the truth, Athena just smiles. Part of her wants to be mad, but she can't quite bring herself to it. She needed this more than she realized at the time, and sitting here with her friends helped. And maybe Tess knew that, and maybe just the presence of everyone was exactly what she needed to help after everything that'd happened. So it doesn't feel even remotely like a lie when she says, “what can I say. I have good friends.”


	2. my life, my love, my drive they came from

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Athena-14  
> Exploring IO  
> During the Red War

“ _I lost my arm in the Pyramidion. I cannot begin to postulate what you will lose.”_

Asher's words ring out as she travels the caves of Io. Normally, she doesn't particularly like to tavel alone, but normally she's not as troubled as she is right now. And while she doubts Tess would confront her, Athena also knows that Tess has learned the subtle differences between Athena's many forms of silence. It's unnerving really, being read like an open book that she doesn't have all the chapters to. Almost like she's losing part of herself in her own self-discovery. Maybe that's why she picked Io – Asher's research is a welcome change from Failsafe's reminder of her possible fate or the EDZ's promises of memories that only come in flashes upon death. Here, she can destroy machine after mindless machine and revel in watching their bronze limbs flail.

Revel. Not a word she would have used once upon a time, but a fitting one all the same. She wonders when this managed to sneak its way into her vocabulary as a staple. Probably around the same time the SIVA ran through her. Even now, purged of its influence and long since removed from it, she finds herself wondering just how much it managed to change that can't be reverted. There are days she wanders about the City with nothing in mind, where she lets her feet take her places. She always ends up in the same places, places to sit and reflect. Maybe she used to do that a lot before everything.

Maybe a lot of things.

But it doesn't matter now. What matters now is the looming structure of the Pyramidion, the endless waves of Vex, the knowledge there's something in there that has taken so much. Part of her wants to take it on her own – the memories of destroying Sepiks Prime with nothing more than the void coursing through her systems are still fresh enough, and she knows she can do the same with whatever she finds down there. Time hasn't worn her down that much, even if the Vanguard have stopped sanctioning flying solo for strike missions now. It didn't bother her at first, but she finds herself itching to accomplish something on her own.

She tries not to think too hard about that as she slips between cover and fires off at the goblins that continue to march forward. Instead, Athena merely continues to clear out enemies until she hears North ping that they've cleared enough enemies in this area. She finds a nook to take some shelter in and she reflects for a moment. Part of her knows that she should take anything Asher says with a grain of salt, but the rest of her can't help but wonder. What if he's right, and the Pyramidion does indeed take something from those who come through it? It wouldn't be the first time a place required a toll of some sort, nor would it be the last. The question rings through her head: _what sort of toll do the Vex require?_

She doesn't let the memory of red mites linger in response.


	3. the best medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The various laughter of Athena-14

_Virginia Casad_

> Athena has hardly been in the tower for a month. There’s something vaguely terrifying about being in an unfamiliar place, especially one as big as this. A weight settles in her stomach, a mixture of nerves and excitement, and she doesn’t quite register that she’s run into someone at first. “Shi - I’m sorry! My apologies.”
> 
> “Don’t worry about it.” The human is doing a quick pat down, and Athena scans her quickly just to check for any injuries. “You must be in a rush though.”
> 
> There’s a beat, a pause where Athena considers what to say. She should just let this person go about her day, just let her get to her life again, she probably has people to meet too and - “I’m lost.”
> 
> Or she can stick her food in her mouth. That’s always an option. But the other woman just laughs, raises an eyebrow at her, and at least she doesn’t look mad.
> 
> “Okay.” She draws out the first syllable, shakes her head. “Where you trying to go?”
> 
> “The Vanguard.”
> 
> “You’re a Guardian, then?” She gives Athena a once over, and for a moment Athena isn’t quite sure what to do. This isn’t something she’s used to, although perhaps she should be. Really, she should be, it’s what the other human did too, and - “Warlock?”
> 
> “How did you know? Was it because of the obvious Void energy? Or perhaps your Ghost? Or -” She’s interrupted with a raised hand and another chuckle.
> 
> “The robes. And the bond.”
> 
> “Oh.” She’s almost disappointed, but then she looks down at herself. There’s another brief pause, then she lets out a breathy laugh herself. “Right. I guess that’d be a giveaway.”  
> 
> Her comms ping and they exchange information. Virginia seems nice enough, and she’d make a good addition to the fire team. Three members means they can finally be authorized for strikes, after all, and then they can really get out there.

_“Schirm”  
_

> She gets pulled into a fireteam with Virginia and one of her friends later. She’s wary at first - she knows that she’s most efficient on a team that can utilize her ability to move between places. There’s something about the fluidity of it, finding empty space and then being there. If nothing else, she appreciates that she comes and goes almost better than any Hunter claims to.
> 
> But then there’s this one, this asshole who beats her to every space. It’s not quite a competition, not a rivalry… more of a game. They’ll see the same space, and before she knows it one of them is there. Sometimes it’s her, but it’s him more often than she’d care to admit, and she doesn’t realize that this is almost fun until she feels herself smiling in spite herself. They’re supposed to be on a very serious mission from Zavala to take out a Fallen captain that’s been planning an assault on the city, and here they are not quite racing.
> 
> It’s just… easy. Easy in a way that it hasn’t been in the year she’s been a Guardian. She finally feels herself relaxing with the help of the others even as she explores Mars, Venus, the Moon for fuck’s sake!
> 
> “Betcha a bowl of ramen at the tower that I make it to the next point first.” There’s something almost cocky in Schirm’s voice, and he winks at her. Athena merely rolls her eyes in response, the dimming of her lights close enough for even them to understand the gesture.
> 
> “You’re on!”
> 
> He’s fast, a spry fellow even for a Hunter, but she’s got something on her side that he doesn’t - the ability to shift, to blink and be someplace else. And it keeps her neck in neck with him even as Virginia shouts something from behind them.
> 
> The world goes black, and then she blinks again and her Ghost is hovering over her, the only semi-concerned faces of her fireteam above her. Athena doesn’t realize she’s laughing for a second. When she sits up, it looks like she’s sitting at the very spot that they had been racing to. She blinks, then grins up at Schirm
> 
> “I think I won.”

_Io'Ilithe'canthi'tessa'ranaris'alum'eno'afi – “Tess”_

> Athena still isn’t quite sure what to make of the Awoken at her side, all bubbly smiles and excited movements. It doesn’t quite match up with the rest of her, with the vitals she’s putting out for the Exo to see. Or perhaps not putting out. She highly doubts that the other woman would actively give away such information. But it’s there for her to see all the same, so she looks.
> 
> It doesn’t take much digging to see that there’s a tension just under the surface, but she can’t imagine why.
> 
> They’ve been traveling together for a couple of months now, and ever since what Athena only refers to as the Schism, she’s pulled back from working in set fireteams. She’s always been a floater, able to hope between groups as needed, and becoming tied down to a single person was a mistake. One that she’s fixing now. Or rather, one that she’s intending on fixing as soon as the Awoken leaves her alone. But instead, she’s out and about with Tess. Only, she can see how much it bothers Tess to be called her nickname by others. She clearly remembers when they first met, the way she’d instantly pushed back against it.   
>   
> It’s interesting, how things can change so quickly.
> 
> “You know, you sound like a cat when you’re thinking.”
> 
> The comment comes from nowhere, and Athena almost comes to a dead stop with just how off guard it takes her.
> 
> “…. Excuse me?”
> 
> “A cat. A tiny little kitten, ‘cause when you’re thinking but not speaking, you do this… I dunno, hum. Not quite a purr, but close enough, yeah?” There’s a lopsided grin spreading across Tess’ face, and the whole scene is so ridiculous that Athena can’t help but laugh. It’s not sharp, bitter, like the ones she’s used to giving, but honest. Genuine. Almost soft, almost human, but there’s just enough static underneath it all that she doesn’t forget herself for a second.
> 
> “A kitten. Right.” There’s still some lingering amusement in her voice, but it doesn’t last long.
> 
> It doesn’t need to.

_Jorden Henley_

> The first time she sees the Titan, there’s a mixture of emotions that run through her. She wants to run, wants to get as far away as possible, and she knows that Tess can see it in her face. But she takes a deep breath, reminds herself that this is different, that she has no reason to distrust someone new.
> 
> ( _She ignores the voice in the back of her head that reminds her that she’s right, that she should be doubting the people she knew, that they were the ones that could walk away at any minute._ )
> 
> She introduces herself, lets Tess take care of the rest for a minute, catches a name - Jordan. It helps her breathe a little easier now. they’re the wrong type, the wrong name, the wrong everything. And as the fireteam goes about the strike that Zavala assigned them all to, it becomes clear that they’re also the wrong personality entirely. There’s no way someone as steadfast as Jordan would just up and leave.
> 
> Not when this is the third time they’ve almost died getting between Athena and the enemy.
> 
> Part of her wants to let out a string of curses at the recklessness of it all, but instead she wills her Light into a pool at her feet, lets the mixture of Jordan’s barrier and her healing rift get them through this current wave of enemies. Hive, the resilient little assholes.
> 
> Maybe Tess is rubbing off on her too much.
> 
> It feels like they’re there for hours, and eventually they settle into an easy routine. Jordan throws up their barrier, gives them a degree of safety that they can pop in and out of to shoot, and when that goes down Athena puts down her rift for them to weather the storm of thrall that threaten to sweep them away. Every crack of the sniper rifle reassures Athena that Tess is safe, tucked away while the two of them take the brunt of it. And maybe it’s the fact that they’re being forced to work together, but Athena quickly finds herself adjusting to Jordan’s movements. It’s not hard to do, not difficult at all to duck and weave, to learn when the Titan will be in the way of their grenade or will be getting ready to bring down the full force of their Light. And eventually, the thrall and acolytes and knights stop coming, and the two of them practically collapse against a wall. Athena lets out a shaky laugh, feels her feet plant firmly into the ground.
> 
> “Not half bad, Big Red.” Athena’s laughter only comes harder at the ridiculous nickname that Tess gives their newest addition.
> 
> “Helps having a crack shot on our side.” 
> 
> “Flattery will get you everywhere.” It’s easy to hear the amusement now that the fighting is done, the tension gone with the last of their foes. Athena has North do a quick scan, then she looks over at Jordan and nods.
> 
> “Looks like you’re growing on her. Good.” She offers Jordan an arm to help them stand, then laughs again. “Welcome to the team.”


	4. help me understand why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Athena-14 and Jordan Henley  
> Post-Red War  
> The Last City

It happens one day over ramen.They’re in the City, just enjoying a moment of quiet. Tess is out, made some excuse for not wanting to be around.  
  
(Athena knows better, knows that something happened between her and Jordan. But she also knows better than to push the issue, even if it’s making fireteam coordination annoying.)

They’d been on Titan most of the day, and maybe it was the hive coming in unending waves or maybe it was the knowledge that something dark lurked deep beneath the waters. Either way, their weight had a silence to it as they worked on their noodles. Eventually, though, Jordan spoke up, their voice soft, words halting.  
  
“So, ah… Whatcha think ‘bout what Holliday said?” They haven’t looked up from their bowl for the last three minutes. Normally, Athena would find that some small reason for concern. But what was normal these days?   
  
(It’s a trick question. Normal now includes slaying gods and emperors and god-emperors. Normal includes losing and regaining the Light of the Traveler. Normal includes pushing back the knowledge that another reboot is on the horizon and being terrified of that very thing.)

“About good and evil? That whole bit?” They whir a bit in thought as Jordan nods. It’s not that she doesn’t disagree with the idea that the Hive and the Traveler are on opposing sides of whatever this is - a war, a battle, a struggle. It’s that the more time goes on, the less sure she is about the rest of it all. Light, good, their place in it all. After a long moment, she shrugs, her lights dimming just slightly.  
  
“I think…. I think we’re just here again. I think that there are two sides to every story, and that we have no idea where to begin with the Traveler and the Darkness or any of that. I think that defending ourselves is admirable, sure. But what Ghaul did… I think we have to be real cautious. People are gonna be more careful now that we have been reminded that we’re far more mortal than we like to think about, but also because it just takes one person to give someone else an idea. And the Traveler has many enemies.”   
  
There’s a pause as she thinks for another moment. Jordan is quiet, still looking down at their noodles with quiet contemplation.   
  
“I don’t know that we are as good as everyone keeps saying.” It’s quiet, but Athena can’t help but feel as though she shouted it. She remembers Hawthorn, remembers her words from when she was just getting back on her feet. The disdain that some of the other members of the Farm had for the City, for the Guardians and the Vangaurd had taken her off-guard, but now she almost understands. They sit in the Tower and look down and only leave when it comes time to slaughter the Eliksni or the Hive or the Cabal. The looks they get even just walking through the City are enough to make her reconsider so much.

 

They aren’t gods. The looks they get sometimes would suggest otherwise, and that’s enough to frighten her. That’s the line of thinking that got them into so much trouble before.  


Jordan must be able to read her, must know machines better than they let on because they make a small noise that isn’t quite throat clearing but isn’t quite not either.

“I dunno. I think if we weren’t, we’d be back like we were ‘fore, right? ‘Cause if we didn’t care, we’d be.. I dunno, lot closer to the worms than to the people here.” It’s almost hypothetical, but there’s something in their tone that could be mistaken for pleading. The uncertainty disappears with a shake of their head though, and Athena envies how quickly they can dispel it. “I remember hearin’ stories about the warlords. I don’t think we’ve fallen back. What drives the Hive may be able ta be broken down into somethin’ similar ta what drives us, but that don’t make them the same.”

 

There’s another pause between them as they finish the last of their food. For the first time since striking this part of the conversation, Jordan looks at her. There’s something studious to it, as though she were under a microscope somewhere. She doesn’t think it’s intentional, watches the skin of Jordan’s cheek move as they suck it in thought. When they nod to themself, Athena finally lets herself relax a little bit. “You remember hearing?”  
  
“It was way b’fore my time.” That draws a laugh out of Athena, a quick mechanical bark of a sound.   
  
“It was before a lot of people’s times. How green are you?”   
  
There’s a slightly longer pause than before.   
  
“.... ‘Bout a year next month?”   
  
“Oh my - you’re just a blueberry!” For the first time in a while, actually laughter starts to bubble up, spilling out before she can stop herself. “That’s almost adorable!”   
  
“Hey! I ain’t that new, there’re - I can fight just fine and -” Jordan’s cheeks puff out as they huff slightly, face turning bright red. They sink down into their chair a little more, and Athena can’t help it. She can feel her lights brightening up in amusement, knows that they’re flickering as she talks.   
  
“No, no I believe you. Just. I thought you were older was all.” The thought sits in her mind a bit longer, heavier than she’d intended. But she files that away for later.


End file.
